Larry Shenk, Vice President of Alumni Relations, shares his notes, quotes and anecdotes from the world of baseball.

Rookie On The Hill

Rookie On The HillFive years ago the Phillies drafted a righthanded pitcher in the seventh round out of Mount Vernon (WA) High School, Kyle R. Kendrick. He was all-state in football and baseball and an All-American punter who turned down a scholarship to play quarterback at Washington State University to sign with the Phillies.

Tomorrow afternoon, the 22-year-old will make his major league debut against the Chicago White Sox. With Freddy Garcia placed on the disabled list, the Phillies reached into their farm system again and decided to promote Kyle from Reading, where he was 4-7 with a 3.21 ERA in 12 starts.

As can be typical of young high school pitchers, Kendrick struggled during his first three pro seasons. A year ago, he was a combined 12-9 pitching for Lakewood and Clearwater.

His last start at Reading was an 8-1 complete game win against Harrisburg on Wednesday. He threw 105 pitches. His sinking fastball (88-93 mph) resulted in 15 ground ball outs. Time of game was a snappy 1 hour, 59 minutes.

The amateur scouting reports on Kyle included: “Projectable bodied, athletic RHP who shows some feel for pitching. Has quick arm and the ability to reach back for 90/91. He has some late sink. Keeps ball around zone and throws strikes. Needs work with delivery. Athletic enough to make adjustments needed. Projects as a 4-5 starter. Very good worker. Plus make-up.”

Ryan VotesSince coming off the disabled list, Ryan Howard has hit 7 homers and driven in 18 runs. On the recently completed road trip, Ryan hit .348 with two homers and five RBI in six games.

His blast last night was a no-doubt-about it upper deck missile to right field. It was estimated at 428 feet.

Yet, when the All-Star voting results from the National League were announced yesterday, Ryan remained out of the top five in votes. That is puzzling.

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Last month I asked about Howard’s weight and you responded, no it’s wait(impatience). You had the right idea with “wait”, but in the end I would say, wait until he looses the weight. Coming off the D.L. he’s returned to his M.V.P. form. With a good year he’d be lucky to crack the top 3 in voting, but if he remains hot the next month don’t count him out as a reserve. With his hr derby performance last year MLB should be able to find him a spot.

Are the Phillies intentionally keeping their minor league call ups at Reading instead of Ottawa? Seems more players have been from the closer R-Phil’s.

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